Wario Ware

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A first look at the US version, with all new videos from the game.

By Craig Harris

In just a few weeks, Nintendo will release for the Game Boy Advance what could possibly be the company's quirkiest, most original title ever: Wario Ware: Mega Microgame$. The game's been out in Japan as Made in Wario for over a month and we've already run several stories on the game itself, but Nintendo has just sent over the final US version of the game...and we thought we'd put some new stuff up before E3 just in case it gets lost in the E3 shuffle coming in just the next few days.

For those that might not know what Wario Ware or Made in Wario is, you're in for a treat: the game is essentially a collection of extremely basic, quick-shot mini-games, and the challenge is to work your way through these games in rapidfire succession. The game is separated into levels, each one hosted by a character in this very strange and colorful universe. The challenge is to perform the specific task in each of the mini-games within five seconds of it popping up on your screen. Succeed and you move on. Fail, and you lose a try...and move on. Each character has a boss challenge that takes a bit more time and technique to complete...but if you lose all your lives, you'll have to go through the same number of mini-game challenges that the specific character requires you to complete.

The US version of Wario Ware hasn't changed much in the move from the Japanese release, apart from new English titles during the intro, as well as text that tells players what's expected of them during the little mini-game. So when the challenge is to catch a rod, or jump over a barrel, or catch a little person on a net, or stomp a goomba, you'll know exactly what to do...five seconds isn't a whole lot of time to orient yourself.

Check out the video footage from the US version of the game by hitting the link below. We'll have a full review of the game when it ships on May 26th.

Taking the art of video game design to a new level, Nintendo's WARIO WARE, INC.: MEGA MICROGAMES gives gamers a hilarious look at what really goes on behind the scenes. You can't really say that Wario is greedy. He's just, uh, financially motivated. Always on the lookout for his next get-rich-quick scheme, Wario stumbles upon the lucrative video game publishing market. Like any aspiring entrepreneur, Wario buys a PC and starts his own company, called Wario Ware, Inc. With the help of his friends, he develops over 200 of the wildest games the world has never seen.